Dying Star
by atyinso
Summary: Kindred have never faltered in their duty before, but one night Lamb comes across a prey she couldn't—she wouldn't—kill.
1. Another

It was time again.

Kindred bounded through the forests of the Shadow Isles with unmatched finesse and speed. The ghosts and specters retreated in fear, but the Kindred were not after them.

No, the residents of the Shadow Isles had already been dealt with, and it was time for two others to join them.

Permanently.

Seconds later and Kindred arrived at a small clearing. They could feel it drawing closer as they stopped.

The end of the hunt was nearing, and it was time for them to reap their prize.

An anthropomorphic wolf was towering over another creature. Both were weakened, injured, but neither dead.

Yet.

The beast breathed heavily, its chest heaving as it rested.

A hunt within a hunt but in the end, there would always only be one true hunter:

Kindred.

The scent of fresh blood filled Wolf's nose, and he laughed loudly as he savored the pungent smell. The sound of his laughter attracted the attention of the hunter, and it turned its head towards them.

Its eyes widened as it recognized Kindred.

"N-no! Not yet! Not now!" It backed away from Kindred, tripping over the body below it.

Wolf grinned sadistically as he approached it. " **You time is up, little wolf. Best to start running now. You've never faced anyone quite like me!** "

It scrambled onto its feet as it turn and ran, away from Kindred, away from its inevitable fate.

How cute.

Wolf sped after it. " **Yes! I love a good chase!** _ **Run**_ **! You can't escape me forever!** "

Lamb watched Wolf chase with unbridled joy for a few seconds, joy rising in her chest as she felt his happiness.

But there was no time for that, not while she still had a job to do. It was her turn now.

Lamb stood over the fallen body, softly humming a tune as she observed it. It was that of a dying woman, but not one quite human. She inquisitively tilted her head. She had never seen a being like it before in her many years.

A sharp horn protruded from the top of its head, parting its silky white hair. It had beastial legs that resembled those of a goat. Multiple scratches marred swirling purple patterns on smooth lavender skin, blood leaking out of the deeper cuts. The large cavity in the center of its chest was the worst part. The beast had ripped a hole to access the heart, but must have forgotten about in its haste to escape death, so now Lamb could see the rapidly beating organ push against exposed broken ribs.

A truly grisly scene, but not the worst she's seen.

It wouldn't survive for much longer. At this rate, it would bleed out within minutes.

One swift shot was all it would take to end its suffering.

It focused its golden eyes on her, the brightness in them dimming with each second. Yes, it knew her. Its mouth was slightly agape as if wanted to cry out, but no sound came out from its throat. Tears ran down its cheeks as it closed its eyes, awaiting its fate.

Lamb raised her weapon, her fingers tightened around her bow, ready to release the arrow that would end its life.

Only she didn't.

She remained in that position for a few seconds, as still as a statue. Her bow and arrow didn't move an inch and her fingers felt stiff.

Strange. She's never hesitated like this.

Something didn't feel right.

Was she mistaken about the time?

Against her better judgment, she slowly lowered her weapon. She stared as the strange creature struggled to open its eyes, curious as to why it wasn't killed yet.

Lamb wasn't sure why, but she knew what she was going to do.

She was going to save it.

She began to channel magic until an aura completely surrounded them, preventing death in the area. She put the creature to sleep as she forced magic to ebb into the wounds, healing even the worst of the fatal injuries.

Before long, the creature was healthy enough to not die.

Lamb was not a healer; she was a killer. The only magic she knew was basically necromancy.

It would not be the same afterwards, and Lamb didn't have an issue with that.

There was, however, still one problem left though:

Lamb wasn't sure why she was doing this.

She couldn't kill it, so that meant that she must save it. Questions rushed through her head as she performed the rare ritual.

It was too late to go back though.

She made the magic intensify, until there was a bright flash of light that shone from its breast.

She watched as corrupted life returned to it.

" _Not here, not yet,_ " she whispered.

 _But when?_


	2. Questions

Lamb knew it would not be long before Wolf returned. She felt it; the hunt had ended.

And sure enough, he entered her vision a few minutes later.

He immediately frowned upon seeing the unconscious body at her feet.

" **Not awake, but not dead? Why is this, Lamb?** " He turned his head inquisitively.

She hesitated, the foreign action causing her to feel uneasy. " _It… it was not time for its demise._ "

" **You say that, but why?** "

" _I don't know, Wolf,_ " she snapped. " _Don't question me._ "

Wolf sniffed sharply. " **Fine. What are we going to do with it?** "

Lamb glared at him. " _What did I just say?_ "

Wolf whined in disappointment. " **I'm just curious! Your things are my things too.** "

Lamb sighed in defeat. He was right. " _I… I really don't know, Wolf. I just couldn't kill it. My fingers wouldn't let me shoot the arrow. I hesitated. That doesn't just happen for no reason._ "

" **Are you becoming weak?** " He leaned in towards her, examining her like he could determine the answer from studying her hard enough.

" _No,_ " she said in a dangerous tone. She pushed Wolf away from her in annoyance, making him whimper. " _You should know better than to even suggest such a thing._ "

Wolf opened his mouth to apologize, but a pained groan interrupted him.

Kindred looked at the creature Lamb saved. Dark magic began to encircle and enter its body, turning it from lavender to teal color. Its eyes shot open in alarm, completely blank, glowing the same color as its skin.

Kindred approached it.

It sat up, clutching its head. "W-who are you?" It looked panicked as it heard its own voice speak with an unnatural echo to it.

Wolf turned to Lamb, perplexed. " **Did it just ask who we are? How does it not know?** "

Lamb shook her head. " _I do not know. This is most strange._ "

"I'm sorry? You still haven't answered my question."

" _We are Kindred,_ " Lamb replied.

It tilted its head. "Kindred? I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with that name."

Wolf let out an unrestrained shout of anger. " **Enough with this talk!** " Wolf growled, turning to Lamb. " **Let's just kill it.** _ **Please**_ **just let me kill it,** " he begged.

" _No,_ " Lamb said sharply, causing Wolf to flinch. Her voice softened. " _Restrain yourself, my dear friend. I did not spend all that magical energy to save it just for it to die to you._ "

Wolf was getting frustrated. " **Why did you save it in the first place?** "

" _You should know that sometimes, it is not time for a mortal's life to end yet,_ " Lamb scolded. Saving instead of killing was not something Lamb did often as it was not her job anymore, but this would not be the first time it's happened. This would be the second time, actually.

The first time though… it did not disappoint, and she had faith in her instincts that sparing this one would be for good reason as well.

" **Yes, I know that, but this one cannot** _ **possibly**_ **have any potential. '** _ **Who is Kindred?'**_ **Ridiculous.** " Wolf huffed indignantly. How could someone not know who they were?

"Um, excuse me? I'm right here, and still very confused," it cut in meekly. It looked like it was petrified with fear, and Lamb almost felt pity.

" _What do you call yourself?_ " Lamb inquired.

"Soraka. My name is Soraka."

" _Soraka…_ " Lamb hummed thoughtfully. That name seemed strangely familiar, although she couldn't quite recall why. She turned to her companion. " _Wolf, does that name sound familiar to you?_ "

Wolf laughed at her question with absolute disdain. " **As if I would bother to remember the names of any mortals. What importance would that even serve?** "

Lamb shrugged, not knowing how to respond to that question. " _You do have a point. I suppose it doesn't matter right now,_ " she said, even though she didn't quite believe her own words. She knew that she wouldn't have felt any connection to it if it was something insignificant.

But now was not the time for her to wonder about things like the familiarity of names. There were more important matters at hand.

" _Soraka,_ " she called out, her mind still filled with the remnants of wandering thoughts.

Soraka acknowledged her apprehensively. "Yes?"

" _You are confused, are you not?_ " Lamb asked, even though she knew what the answer would be.

Soraka nodded unsurely in response, just as she expected.

" _Very well. Follow us if you want answers._ "


	3. Answers

" _I suppose you have questions._ "

The one called Soraka nodded. "I do. What did you do to me?"

" _I saved you from your assailant,_ " Lamb answered simply.

The mortal was visibly confused. "But why? Why would you save me?"

" _I do not know, truthfully. I only know that it is not time for your demise, not yet, and that is all I can tell you._

" _That's enough questions on your end for now. I have one of my own for you, Soraka._ "

Soraka looked at her. "What is it?"

Lamb almost hesitated. Almost. She felt that this was a sensitive topic, but it was not in her nature to care. " _Who was attacking you?_ " she asked.

"He… he _was_ a friend," Soraka said in a surprisingly bitter tone for someone with such a soothing voice. "Was."

" _Was,_ " Lamb repeated, and Soraka nodded absentmindedly in response.

The two turned to Wolf, who had snorted loudly, almost feeling amused by what he was hearing. " **Some friend he was. What'd you do to make him try to kill you?** " Wolf leaned in closer to Soraka, his interest now piqued.

Soraka frowned and backed away slightly, uncomfortable with Wolf's close proximity. "He wishes to consume my heart to stabilize his transformation. He wasn't always like that; he was a human before. But now…

"We've both changed for the worst, I suppose," she said with a shrug.

" **What a boring story,** " Wolf whined. " **Even the worst of Lamb's stories are more interesting.** "

" _And which tales would those be?_ " Lamb asked in a dangerously low tone, offended by his comment. Her stories were all very intriguing, thank you very much.

" **Uh, nothing,** " Wolf said as he backed away from her. " **I didn't mean anything by that.** "

Lamb glared at him and sighed. She would chastise him later. She had more important matters at hand.

" _Were you a human as well? Before you turned into…_ " Lamb gestured vaguely at Soraka's entire body, not quite sure how to describe it. She wanted to say it was a satyr, but that wasn't quite right. Not when there was a unicorn horn growing out of its head.

Soraka grimaced. "I was a celestial being, actually, before the incident that damned me with mortality."

That caught Kindred's attention. " _A celestial being,_ " Lamb repeated with surprise. " _That must be why your name sounded so familiar._ "

" **Do you know Bard?** " Wolf asked eagerly, his body shaking with excitement from the new information.

Now it was Soraka's turn to be surprised. It nodded in affirmation to his question. "Yes, I do actually. He's quite a good friend. How do you know him?"

" _He gave us our masks and thus, made us Kindred,_ " Lamb explained. " _Without them, we were unrecognizable due to a curse placed on us by a vengeful mage. Now, people can know of us and our deeds. While it didn't seem too significant at first, we've learned that it's nice to be recognized for one's work. We are forever indebted to him for it and as a result, we do not intervene when he goes about his business, even when it interferes with our own._ "

"That's… that's interesting. I'd like to hear more about how you two met him, if you'll indulge me," Soraka requested politely. Bard wasn't the most… sociable companion she had, but the wandering celestial held a special place in her heart.

Lamb hummed thoughtfully. " _Very well. I suppose we can entertain you for now, for we have nothing better to do at the moment. Have a seat. This may take us some time._ "

And so Soraka sat down on the floor, with Wolf almost cuddling by her side.

Almost.

" **I love this story.** "


End file.
